“Where
Could I Go?”
Luke 8:40-48 (SBC,
Sligo IE)
29 July 2018
INTRODUCTION:
Have you ever had a problem that was
so great that you didn’t know who to turn to for help? Have you ever found
yourself in a situation that seemed to be hopeless? Have you ever reached the
end of your rope and thought that there was no way out of your predicament?
TRANSITION:
This morning we are going to learn
about a lady who was in just that kind of a situation. She had done everything
possible to solve her problem but to no avail. She had paid out all her money
to experts but had still gotten no relief. She must have been near despair,
thinking that her situation was hopeless, but then somewhere she heard about
Jesus, the Healer from Galilee, the One that some said was the Messiah, and she
determined to give it one more try.
MAIN BODY:
Verse 40: And as Jesus returned, the people welcomed
Him, for they had all been waiting for Him.
·
“And as
Jesus returned…”
Returned from where? If you remember last Sunday’s message you will recall that
according to Luke 8:26 Jesus had been ministering in the area to the north of
the Sea of Galilee, especially in the region of Capernaum. But verse 26 says, “Then they sailed to the country of the
Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.” This was the area down on the
southeastern shore of the lake where they encountered the man who was possessed
by a legion of demons. After Jesus cast the demons out of him Jesus and His
disciples got back in the boat and headed back up north toward Capernaum in
Galilee.
·
“…the people
welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him.” Wherever Jesus went
there were always crowds of people anxious to see Him and to hear His message.
Moreover, sick people flocked to Him to be healed. Such was the case of one
particular man by the name of Jairus.
Verses 41-42: And there came a man named Jairus, and he was
an official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus’ feet, and began to implore
Him to come to his house; 42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve
years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against
Him.
·
Good
books always have a main plot, and usually several subplots. That means they
have stories within the story. That is exactly what we have here in our text
for this morning. In verse 41 we have the start of the story of Jesus healing
the daughter of Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue. But then suddenly we find
ourselves thrust into another story entirely in verse 43. This morning I am
going to bypass the story of Jairus and press on to verse 43. Next Sunday we
will learn the rest of the story about the healing of Jairus’ daughter, but you
will just have to be patient until then.
·
I
will simply point out that according to the parallel account in Mark 5 Jesus
was in the region of Capernaum, on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. As
He was walking along He was accompanied by a large crowd. Suddenly a man came
running up to Him and threw himself at Jesus feet. His name was Jairus and he
was the ruler of one of the local synagogues. He explained to Jesus that his
precious little 12-year-old daughter was very ill, literally at the point of
death. He begged Jesus to go with him saying, “Please come and lay Your hands on her,
that she may get well and live.” So, Jesus started off with Jairus
toward his house. Mark 5:24 picks up the story saying, “So Jesus went with him. A large crowd
followed and pressed around Him.”
·
So,
you see, the story we are taking up this morning is really a parenthesis in the
story of Jairus and his problem. This is where the camera switches to another
scene. In that pressing crowd of people was a woman with a great need who had
also come looking for Jesus. Try to picture the situation in your mind. Jesus
and His disciples were trying to make their way down the narrow street toward
Jairus’ house. They were being shoved and pressed in from every side. The crowd
was pushing up against Jesus, wanting to touch Him, wanting Him to touch them.
I don’t know if Jesus felt claustrophobic in that moment, but I know that I
would have.
·
Suddenly,
amidst the pushing and shoving a hand reached out and touched the hem of Jesus’
robe. Knowing exactly what had happened, Jesus stopped and turned around, the
crowd suddenly stopping in the street with Him.
Verses 43-44: And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve
years, and could not be healed by anyone, 44 came
up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her
hemorrhage stopped.
·
“And a
woman…”
We do not know her name, her age, or any details about her private life except
concerning her illness. At this stage in her life she had apparently come to be
defined by her illness, at least in her own mind. That sometimes happens to
people—terms like “mentally ill,” or paraplegic, or cancer patient, or leper, or
schizophrenic, for example, tend to define a person’s life. But she was much
more than her illness!
·
She
had been suffering for 12 years with a hemorrhage problem. In other words, she
was constantly bleeding from her female organs. Her problem was a common one,
but also very serious. Had she lived in our century she would have gone in for
a complete hysterectomy and her problem would have been solved, but that was
not an option for her in those days.
·
The
ancient Talmud (a Jewish commentary on the Torah) offered 11 different cures
for this problem, including tonics, poultices, and astringents. Beyond these
there were common folk-remedies and superstitions like carrying the ashes of an
ostrich egg in a linen rag in the summertime and in a cotton rag in winter; or
carrying a barley-corn that had been found in the dung of a white she-ass. This
woman had probably tried every possible remedy, but nothing had given her
relief.
·
But
this ailment had not only ruined her health, it had also made her ceremonially
defiled. According to Leviticus 15:19-30 she was considered “unclean” and
therefore was cut off from the worship of God in the Temple or synagogue, and
thus also cut off from the fellowship of friends, because she would make them
ceremonially unclean as well.
·
The
parallel account in Mark’s Gospel, chapter 5 reveals in verse 26, “…and she had
endured much at the hands of many physicians and had spent all that she had and
was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse—” From our 2018
perspective we immediately see that this lady would be a prime candidate for a
whopping big medical malpractice suit, but that legal option didn’t exist in
her day.
o
“She had
endured much…”
She had experienced great suffering, with pain, tiredness, messiness, anemia,
etc.
o
“…at the
hands of many physicians…” Think of her embarrassment at having to be examined over
and over again and having to explain the problem to male doctors because
that’s all they had in those days.
o
“She had
spent all that she had…” She had spent it on doctor bills and medicine that did her
no good and now she was financially ruined.
o
“…and was
not helped at all, but rather had grown worse.” Hers was an incurable
case, a “chronic” case. Some of the so-called “cures” made things worse. This
is a sad but not uncommon story of medical impotence. That’s why they call it,
“practicing medicine”! Now she was just plain out of luck, out of money,
and out of options. And that’s when she turned to Doctor Jesus!
·
Mark
reveals something else that is important. In Mark 5:27-28 he says, “After hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd
behind Him and touched His cloak. 28 For she thought, ‘If I just
touch His garments, I will get well.’” This is where her faith
is revealed! But she did not just have faith, she acted on her faith!
She knew that Jesus was the solution to her problem and she set out after Him
in order to touch Him. She heard about Jesus somewhere from someone. The news
must have filled her with hope. But notice that she came to Jesus as her last
resort, having tried everything the world had to offer to resolve her
problem. So it is with many of us. Whatever the problem, we try everything else
first before turning to the Lord for help. Her problem was embarrassing, and
she couldn’t face sharing it publicly before the crowd, so she decided on a
secret strategy.
·
When
she saw her chance, she made her move through the middle of the crowd to get
close to the Master. This must have required great effort for a woman in her weakened
condition. The crowd was moving along with Jesus, but she approached Him from
behind, which meant she actually had to move faster than the crowd, and also
that she had to push and shove her way through the crowd to make her way to
Jesus.
·
This
was an act of faith. She came right up behind Him and touched the hem (fringe)
of His outer garment. Every devout Jewish man wore an outer cloak (tunic) with
a fringed bottom with a tassel on each of the four corners in obedience to the
command given in Numbers 15:38-40.
·
Take
another look at Mark 5:27-28, “After hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd
behind Him and touched His cloak. 28 For she thought, ‘If I
just touch His garments, I will get well.’”
o
“…for she
thought…”
Literally the Greek text says, “…for she kept
on saying to herself…” She believed that she only needed to touch His
cloak to be healed. This showed great faith in the healing power of Jesus. She
was not trusting in His cloak, but in Him.
·
Now
let’s go back to Luke 8:44, “…so she came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His
cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped.” The moment
she touched His cloak, immediately her flow of blood was dried up. She received
immediate and complete healing. She felt the effect in her body and knew
in that moment that she had been healed. Imagine the emotions that must have flooded
through her—awe, joy, excitement, and gratitude to name a few.
Verse 45: And Jesus said, “Who is the one who
touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You.”
·
Here
is a rule of Biblical interpretation: Whenever
Jesus asked a question, it was never to gain information. It was always
a teaching tool to impart information to others. You and I generally ask
questions because we don’t know the answer and are seeking information.
But Jesus, being fully God, knew exactly who touched Him. In fact, He knew
everything about that poor woman—all that she had suffered, all that she had
spent, all the places she had traveled looking to find a doctor who could treat
her infirmity. Nothing was hidden from Jesus.
·
Notice
also that Jesus’ reaction was immediate. He turned quickly in the middle of the
crowd and asked out loud, “Who touched
Me?” This must have been that poor lady’s worst nightmare. She had thought
that she would be able to just slip away unnoticed.
·
So,
why did Jesus stop and say, “Who is the one who touched Me?” if He already
knew the answer? I believe it was to force the woman to publicly tell what she
had done and to get her to confess her faith in Him before men. Of course, she
had done nothing wrong, and many other people were probably touching Him at the
very same time, as Peter was so quick to point out: “Master, the people are crowding and pressing
in on You.” And of course, Peter was correct. But Jesus wanted to
use this woman and her faith as a lesson to all who were there. Peter and the
other disciples couldn’t understand what Jesus was talking about. They thought
His question very strange in light of the fact that Jesus was being pressed in
from every side. What they didn’t understand was that Jesus could easily tell
the difference between the casual touch of the crowd and that sick woman’s
touch of faith.
Verse 46: But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I
was aware that power had gone out of Me.”
·
How
interesting! This verse makes it sound like He was a bucket of healing power
that anyone could just tap into at any time. But was that true? Can you think
of any other occasion when Jesus healed someone in this manner, by them just
touching Him in a crowd? I know of no other such example. But Jesus wanted
these people to know that something extraordinary had just taken place. This
was a teachable moment and Jesus planned to use it for His own purposes.
Verse 47: When the woman saw that she had not escaped
notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the
presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had
been immediately healed.
·
In
that moment she realized that she had been found out. When she saw that she
hadn’t escaped notice she came up to Jesus fearing and trembling and fell down
on her face before Him. She was probably afraid partly because she knew she
should not be mixing in the crowd with that type of a medical problem. Also,
she felt embarrassed because everyone was looking at her; but at the same time,
she was happy and trembling with excitement, knowing that she had been healed
after 12 long years of misery. Imagine the fear and embarrassment that must
have gripped that dear woman in that moment. Her infirmity must have been a
terrible embarrassment to her. And now, here in front of everyone her secret
was to be revealed. And yet, in the face of Jesus’ question, she had no choice
but to tell her story and to testify of her healing.
·
Reluctantly,
in the hearing of all, she told her sad story. She told of her years of pain
and misery. On her face before Jesus in the middle of that watching, listening
multitude, she told Jesus the whole long, sad story. She confessed it all to
Him. She told why she had touched Him and also testified how she had been
instantly healed. This is exactly what it means to be a “witness.” She simply
told her story and gave Jesus all the credit.
Verse 48: And He said to her, “Daughter, your
faith has made you well; go in peace.”
·
Jesus,
with infinite tact and kindness called her “Daughter,” showing that He was not angry with her, using a term of
endearment, for she was both a daughter of Israel and a daughter of Abraham. As
far as Scripture records, this woman is the only individual Jesus ever
addressed with this tender word. I believe that His heart was moved with
compassion toward her, knowing all that she had suffered and now seeing the
depth and purity of her faith in Him. Her faith in Jesus’ ability to heal her
had been so strong that she didn’t even think it necessary to bother the Master
with her “little problem.”
·
Then
Jesus said, “…your
faith has made you well...” (literally, “has saved you”)
meaning saved from the plague of affliction from which she had suffered for so
long. The verb tense He used indicated once and for all healing, and complete
restoration of her health. In other words, this was not just a temporary
improvement but a complete cure.
·
Of
course, we don’t know the condition of that lady’s heart and soul, but the same
thing is true of eternal salvation—our eternal salvation is by grace through
faith (cf. Ephesians 2:8-10).
·
Then
Jesus told her to “Go in peace,” which is the beautiful Jewish blessing of
“Shalom” and is a prayer for fulness of life and health.
CONCLUSION:
What are the abiding principles for
us to apply to our own lives from this story?
1.
Jesus
is able to cure the incurable, to heal the unhealable, to solve
the unsolvable, and to save the unsavable. He can resolve problems
whether they be physical, financial, emotional, or spiritual. Nothing is too
hard for Him!
§ Sin, like that woman’s
disease, separates us from both God and man. It is ugly and shameful, and we
try to hide in the crowd so that Jesus won’t see us and so that others won’t
even realize that we have a need, but He sees and knows all.
2.
It
always cost Jesus to heal/cure people—i.e. it always took something from Him He
knew when the power had gone out of Him into that woman.
§ It cost Jesus to save
sinners, too. He went to the cross and gave all He had for you and me. He
showed love toward that lady and He showed His love for us on the cross. Jesus
was single-minded in purpose. He said of Himself in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to
save that which was lost.”
3.
The
multitude almost never understands what is at stake.
§ Even the disciples did
not fully understand what they were seeing, nor did they realize what it cost
Jesus to heal people. They were insensitive to what He was going through. And
the crowd just stood there and watched. For them this was just entertainment,
like a “reality show.”
4.
Only
that woman, out of all those people, experienced Jesus’ healing touch.
§ But she needed to
confess what she had done. Even though it was difficult and even embarrassing
there was relief afterward. After she confessed to Jesus, the terror and
trembling were gone. In the same way, confession of Jesus as Saviour and Lord
brings healing, joy, relief, and peace.
§ Just as that lady went
away healed, cleansed, and joyful, so you can meet the Saviour here today and
go away healed, cleansed, and joyful. Coming to Jesus was difficult for that
woman
§ , but it was worth it. I
believe that Jesus is passing by here today. By faith you too can reach
out and touch Him, and you too will be healed and saved. By faith, you can
experience Jesus’ forgiveness and healing touch in your life. He loves you,
just as He loved that woman, and He waits for you to come before Him just as
she did.
§ Notice that once she
had told Jesus everything, the fear and trembling were gone, and a wave of
relief flooded over her and through her. She made her pitiful confession and
found the Master to be ever so kind and gentle.
§ In the middle of this
crowd here today He is looking right at you with His eyes of love and is asking
you to come to Him. Don’t try to slip away into the crowd. This is your chance
to meet the Lord Jesus face to face and experience His love and grace. Open
your heart to Him right now. Believe in Him. He can cure your brokenness and
sin-sick heart if you’ll just reach out to Him by faith. After all, where else
can you turn but to the Lord?
There is a wonderful old country-Gospel song
that I learned years ago that sums up this woman’s situation and I would like
us to close with it. It was written in 1940 by James B. Coats and it’s called,
“Where Could I Go but to the Lord?”
